Paint bucket

ABSTRACT

A four-sided paint bucket has a pouring spout at one end and corrugated areas on the two opposed longer sides. It is deep enough so that it is only partially filled by a gallon of paint. It permits a paint roller to be rolled up the corrugated sides above the liquid level with corrugations assuring rotation of the roller to remove excess paint.

United States Patent Salladay Aug. 20, '1974 [54] PAINT BUCKET FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS i 1 lnvemofi Mack Salladay, Greemrfie. Borough, 1,117,398 10 1957 France l5/257.06 532,744 11 1954 Belgium 15/257015 [73] Assignee: Action Industries, lnc.,Cheswick, gggig 134L614 9/1963 France 220/97 C [22] Filed: Oct. 5, 1972 Primary ExaminerDaniel Blum [21] Appl' 295178 Attorney, Agent, or FirmParmelee, Miller, Welsh &

Kratz [52] US. Cl l5/257.06, 222/572, 220/DIG. 14 [51] Int. Cl 844d 3/12 [57] ABSTRACT Fleld 0f Seafch A fou sided pa b c e h a p ng Spout at one 15/264 1364/18 222/572 220/94 97 C end and corrugated areas on the two opposed longer I 7 sides. It is deep enough so that it is only partially filled [56] References Cted by a gallon of paint. It permits a paint roller to be UNITED STATES PATENTS I rolled up the corrugated sides above the liquid level D202,134 8/1965 Bryan D64/l8 with corrugations assuring rotation of the roller to rel,408,410 2/1922 Sidle 222/572 X move excess paint, 2,763,880 9/1956 Mulcahy I l5/257.06 3,700,146 10/1972 Cousins 222/572 x 2 Claims 3 Drawlng Flgures l l II II ll 11 U H H .u

PATENIEMuszo 1974 SHEET 20$ 2 PAINT BUCKET SPECIFICATION This invention is for a painters paint bucket designed especially for use with a paint roller, and particularly such a bucketsformed of a molded plastic.

Usually a painter likes to transfer paint from the conventional chime can in which it issold to a bucket into which he dips his brush. When using a roller, the painter, whethera professional or an amateur, mustuse an elongated shallow tray of gradually increasing depth from one end toward the other and .the sloping or inclined bottom from the shallow end toward the portion of maximum depth is so designed that the paint roller, after being revolved in the portion of maximum depth, is rotated as it isdrawn up the incline to expel excess .paint from the roll, such procedure being well known and widelypracticed.

A difficulty with such tra-ys is that they'will accept only a portion of an entire gallon at a time, so that one must be careful infilling it and moving it from place'to place to keep it leveland set on a reasonably flat supporting surface and must refill it relatively frequently, which may be inconvenient if one is on ascaffold or elevated platform. It cannot be hung fromthe rung of a ladder or used without difflculty or danger of being tilted on a step ladder.

The present invention provides a new concept in a vessel for use witha paint roller in that it is a deep four- .sided bucket, preferably of generally rectangular shape when viewed from the top. It is ofa dimension such that a paint roller; with its axis horizontal, can be easily inserted into it, and at least one side and preferably two opposed straight sides, which in a rectangular bucket are the longer sides, are corrugated, beaded or otherwise formed with a non-planar surface that will help effect rotation of apaint roller draw up along either of these sides and expel excess paint therefrom. The bucket is deep enough so that even when an entire full gallon can of paint isv emptied into it, the liquid level will leave a greater portion of the area of these sides above that level.

One end of the bucket has a pouring spout molded therein to facilitate returning unused paint to the can from which it was removed, or mixing with other paint. The bucket is taperedon all sides from the bottom to the top to facilitate cleaning. Bail ears are provided at each side below the top so that the bucket may be convenientlycarried from place to place by an attached bail with little danger of spillage.- It can be hung from a ladder, especially when, as is frequently the case, the painter switches from a roller to a brush.

The bucket is especially shaped and designed and reinforced to'be formed by injection molding from thermoplastic resins of the type now commonly employed for waste baskets, buckets, garbage receptacles, etc., but this does not exclude it from being made from other materials or by other methods.

In the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the bucket;-

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical section in aboutthe plane of line Il-II of'FIG.'3 with a-portion of the wall with the pouring spout. in elevation; and

- FIG. 3 is a top plan view of FIG. 1.

Referring in more detail to the drawings, the bucket is a four-sided receptacle, preferably rectangular, with rounded corners, when viewed from the top,'that is, as seen in FIG. 3. It has opposed longer straight side walls 2 nd narrower end walls 3 and 4. It has asubstantially flat interior bottom 5, preferably however with a concavity 6 formed along the sides and ends where the bottom joins to the side and end walls. Both the sides and ends flare or taper outwardly from the bottom up so that the opening at the top is of greater length and width'thanthe bottom. The inside length of the longer sides, that is the distance between the two ends 3 and 4, isadequate so that even at the bottom a conventional paint roller of the kind commonly in use today with'the rollercarried on a kind of goose-neck stiff 'wire handle and shaft arrangement, may be readily inserted into the bucket down to the full depth of the bucket.

There isa top flange 7 around the rim of'the bucket witha depending peripheral lip .-8 to reduce run-down of paint on the outside of the bucket and to provide rigidity, and at intervals there are preferably gussets 9 under this flange connecting the walls of the vessel with the flange and lip. When the bucket is formed of a thermoplastic resin as above referred to, there arealso external ribs 10 and 11 extending at spaced intervals down'the sides of the bucket and with their upper ends also providing gussets. There is a bail ear 17 at the middle of each'long side molded integrally with the lip 8 and flange 7 and the ribs 11, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The inner face of each side wall is provided, as shown, by upwardly-directed integralratchet-like ribs 12 projecting inwardly beyond the plane of the side walls on which they are formed and which extend horizontally from one rounded corner toanother, corrugations of this kind requiring a simple interior mold design aswell as being effective for the purpose, but various other inwardly-projecting ribs extending from one corner to the other for inducing rotation of a paint roller drawn up the sideand removing excess paint being contemplated. These corrugations or ribs extending from adjacent the top for a distance more than half way toward the bottom and formed in the manner shown reinforce the plastic side walls of the bucket from bowing outwardly.

Extending up the front of one of the end walls3 is a pouring groove and lip 13 of upwardly and outwardlyincreasingprojection. Opposite this, on the top of the rear wall 4 there is a handle portion 14 which is integral with-the projects down from the ledge 7 and lip 8. The under surface of this handle is protected from paint drippings and it is useful in tipping the bucket when it is to be emptied. Since the ribs or corrugations l2 terminate at the rounded corners of the bucket, paint collecting on them can drain off at one end or'the other, especially when the bucket is tilted toward one of its ends, as when paint is being poured from the bucket back into the can from which it was taken.

The under surface of the beottom has integral stiffeningribs 15, as illustrated, and it has several, preferably eight integral feet 16 around the lower edge of the outside of the bottom to holdthe bucket slightly elevated above the surface on which the bucket is set so that if ends of ribs '10.

As illustrative of a typical bucket of this invention, it has about a quart overall capacity, the inside length from one end wall 3 to the opposite end wall 4 is of the order of about 12 inches, but because of the inward slope of the ends downwardly, is of the order of i l0/2 inches at the bottom. The inside width at the top is about 9 inches or slightly less and at the bottom it is a full 7 inches or so. The depth is slightly over 7 inches. It is therefore of a size to be conveniently portable, but if a full gallon of paint is poured into it, it will be less than half full so that even when the long sides 2 with their ribs or corrugations provide an adequate exposed area from the top at least half-way down above the liquid level over which to work" a paint roller to remove excess paint. Except to give an example, the dimensions are not otherwise critical.

The structure here shown is designed to be molded from a so-called plastic or resin as above described, but it may of course be formed of other material, including sheet metal.

l claim:

1. A paint bucket comprising a portable four-sided vessel having two opposing straight side walls and two opposing end walls with rounded corner portions connecting the sides and ends and also having a bottom, the sides and ends of the bucket flaring outwardly and upwardly from the bottom, the opposed sides each having a vertical series of spaced horizontal ribs which project inwardly beyond the plane of the side walls on which they are formed and which extend continuously alongthe inner face thereof from one end to the other, said ribs terminating at said curved corner portions, said series of ribs extending from a level near the top to a level at least about half-way toward the bottom, the length of the side walls being such that a painter using a usual roller applicator may dip the roller into paint in the lower portion of the bucket and draw it up along one or the other of the sides where it travels across the ribs, the top of the bucket having a continuous outwardly-turned flange thereabout with a depending lip at its outer edge spaced from the walls of the bucket, one end wall being formed with a pouring groove and lip and the other end being provided with a rigid handle element below the top comprising a depending extension of said annular lip and bail ears being provided on the exterior of each of said side walls near but below the top where they will be clear of a paint roller moving across the top at about midway between the ends.

2. A paint bucket as defined in claim 1 in which the bucket is a molded resin bucket and has a plurality of spaced feet to hold the bottom slightly elevated on a supporting surface where the bucket is set to reduce smearing should there be spillage or run-down on said 

1. A paint bucket comprising a portable four-sided vessel having two opposing straight side walls and two opposing end walls with rounded corner portions connecting the sides and ends and also having a bottom, the sides and ends of the bucket flaring outwardly and upwardly from the bottom, the opposed sides each having a vertical series of spaced horizontal ribs which project inwardly beyond the plane of the side walls on which they are formed and which extend continuously along the inner face thereof from one end to the other, said ribs terminating at said curved corner portions, said series of ribs extending from a level near the top to a level at least about half-way toward the bottom, the length of the side walls being such that a painter using a usual roller applicator may dip the roller into paint in the lower portion of the bucket and draw it up along one or the other of the sides where it travels across the ribs, the top of the bucket having a continuous outwardly-turned flange thereabout with a depending lip at its outer edge spaced from the walls of the bucket, one end wall being formed with a pouring groove and lip and the other end being provided with a rigid handle element below the top comprising a depending extension of said annular lip and bail ears being provided on the exterior of each of said side walls near but below the top where they will be clear of a paint roller moving across the top at about midway between the ends.
 2. A paint bucket as defined in claim 1 in which the bucket is a molded resin bucket and has a plurality of spaced feet to hold the bottom slightly elevated on a supporting surface where the bucket is set to reduce smearing should there be spillage or run-down on said bucket or surface. 